[Via Satellite 09-08-2015] Arabsat and Emerging Markets Communications (EMC) have established a Joint Venture (JV), called Trio, dedicated to offering triple-play services over satellite. The Trio platform is built on EMC’s SATLink technology, and will launch on Arabsat’s upcoming Badr 7 satellite. The JV will provide a Set-Top-Box (STB) that bundles 10 Mb broadband connectivity, Free-to-Air (FTA) and pay-TV reception and Video-on-Demand (VOD) with smart algorithms and large recording capability for national and international content. The service will also act as a Wi-Fi bridge for households so that handheld devices can be connected to Internet and television.

Badr 7 is scheduled to launch through Arianespace in early November 2015. The spacecraft’s high throughput Ka-band payload is designed to support Trio solutions for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and other select African markets. The service will be formally launched upon readiness of the satellite for commercial operations. Trio will have also an enterprise version for broadband over satellite and will be able to support 4K content.

“Under the current JV, the assets and know-how of SATLink have been transferred into Trio to allow for an autonomous operation and to serve the needs of both Arabsat and EMC and support their big database of customers,” said Santiago Rossi, general manager of the newly established Trio.